Checkout system, checkout system control program, and checkout system control method

ABSTRACT

A checkout system performs checkout of articles. The checkout system includes an LCD touch screen  11  for specifying a second article different from a first article having data on the article registered as first article data, a barcode scanner  12  for recognizing a presented article which is the first article presented, and a control unit  314  that determines whether the presented article specified as the second article by the LCD touch screen  11  is not the second article.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a checkout system, a checkout systemcontrol program, and a checkout system control method for performingcheckout of articles.

BACKGROUND ART

At the present day, a certain type of tag is attached to most articlesin order to realize a checkout system for performing checkout ofarticles in a commercial marketplace. In particular, a barcode tag iswidely used.

Checkout of an article (article with barcode) to which a barcode isattached is performed by reading out the barcode using a barcodescanner. On the other hand, checkout of an article (article withoutbarcode) to which a barcode is not attached is performed by a userselecting article name, quantity, and the like displayed on a touchscreen.

However, in a self-checkout system which allows a customer to execute aself-checkout, the abovementioned checkout method for performingcheckout of an article without barcode may be abused in some cases. Forexample, improper operation of falsifying an expensive article withbarcode, such as steak as a low-price article without barcode, such asbanana is performed and, in this case, a shop side suffers a loss. Inthe following, two types of self-checkout systems will be described as acheckout system in which a countermeasure for such improper operationhas been taken.

As a first self-checkout system, a self-checkout system provided witharticle measurement sections both at a portion near a barcode scannerand at an article bag station will be described. FIG. 18 is a blockdiagram showing an example of a configuration of a first conventionalself-checkout system. The first self-checkout system includes aself-checkout (system) control unit 101, an article basket table 2, anarticle bag station 3, and an article database 6. The self-checkoutsystem control unit 101 includes an LCD touch screen 11, a barcodescanner 12, a settlement section 13, a control section 114, acommunication section 15, an article measurement section 21, and anarticle temporary-placing table 22. The article bag station 3 isprovided with an article bag measurement section 4.

The article basket table 2 is a location where articles put in anarticle basket before checkout are placed. The article bag station 3 isa location where an article bag is hung with the mouth thereof opened. Acustomer puts articles after checkout in the article bag at the articlebag station 3. The LCD touch screen 11 displays information to a user,as well as receives input operation from a user. The barcode scanner 12irradiates an article with a laser scanning beam to thereby read out abarcode attached to the article. The settlement section 13 makesdeposits and withdrawals of bills. The control section 114 controlsrespective sections provided in the self-checkout system. The controlsection 15 performs communication with the article database 6 orexternal terminal for shop assistant.

The article bag measurement section 4 measures the weight of an articlebag containing articles at the article bag station 3. The articletemporary-placing table 22 is a table for a user to temporarily placearticles without barcode according to an instruction displayed on theLCD touch screen 11. The article measurement section 21 measures theweight of articles placed on the article temporary-placing table 22.

In the case where checkout of articles with barcode is performed, thecontrol section 114 causes the barcode scanner 12 to read out a barcodeattached to an article and acquires, from the article database 6,article information corresponding to the barcode information. Thearticle information stored in the article database 6 includes weight ofarticle in addition to article type, price, and the like. When a userputs the article in the article bag at the article bag station 3, thearticle bag measurement section 4 measures the weight of the entirearticle bag. Then, the control section 114 calculates an increase in theweight measured by the article bag measurement section 4 and compares aregistration value of the weight of article acquired from the articledatabase 6 and measurement value of the increase in the weight acquiredfrom the article bag measurement section 4. When a difference betweenthe two values falls within a predetermined range, the control section114 performs registration of article sales data. When the differenceexceeds a predetermined range, the control section 114 determines thatimproper operation is made.

In the case where checkout of articles without barcode is performed, auser selects an article without barcode on the LCD touch screen 11.Then, the control section 114 displays, on the LCD touch screen 11, aninstruction for forcing the user to place the selected articles on thearticle temporary-placing table 22. When the user places the article onthe article temporary-placing table 22, the article measurement section21 measures the weight of the article. When the user puts the article inthe article bag at the article bag station 3, the article bagmeasurement section 4 measures the weight of the entire article bag.Then, the control section 114 calculates an increase in the weightmeasured by the article bag measurement section 4 and compares ameasurement value of the weight of article acquired from the articlemeasurement section 21 and measurement value of the increase in theweight acquired from the article bag measurement section 4. When adifference between the two values falls within a predetermined range,the control section 114 performs registration of article sales data.When the difference exceeds a predetermined range, the control section114 determines that improper operation is made.

Next, as a second self-checkout system, a self-checkout system providedwith article measurement sections both at an article basket table and anarticle bag station will be described.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of asecond conventional self-checkout system. In FIG. 19, the same referencenumerals as those in FIG. 18 denote the same or corresponding parts asthose in FIG. 18, and the descriptions thereof will be omitted here.

In FIG. 19, as compared with FIG. 18, a self-checkout system controlunit 201 and an article database 206 are provided in place of theself-checkout system control unit 101 and article database 6,respectively. Further, as compared with the self-checkout system controlunit 101, the self-checkout system control unit 201 includes a controlsection 214 in place of the control section 114, additionally includesan article basket measurement section 5, and does not require thearticle measurement section 21 and article temporary-placing table 22.The article basket table 2 includes the article basket measurementsection 5.

The operation of performing checkout of an article with barcode is thesame as that in the above first self-checkout system.

The article basket measurement section 5 measures the article basketcontaining articles which is placed thereon. When a user performscheckout operation of an article without barcode on the LCD touch screen11 and puts the article in the article bag at the article bag station 3,the article bag measurement section 4 measures the weight of the entirearticle bag. Then, the control section 214 calculates an increase in theweight measured by the article bag measurement section 4, calculates adecrease in the weight measured by the article basket measurementsection 5 and compares the decrease in the weight acquired from thearticle basket measurement section 5 and increase in the weight acquiredfrom the article bag measurement section 4. When a difference betweenthe two values falls within a predetermined range, the control section214 performs registration of article sales data. When the differenceexceeds the predetermined range, the control section 214 determines thatimproper operation is made.

There is known, e.g., the following Patent Document 1 as a conventionalart related to the present invention. A self-scanning system apparatusdisclosed in Patent Document 1 compares the weight of articles includedin article information acquired by self-scanning operation and weightmeasured by measuring apparatuses provided on both the upstream anddownstream sides of an article conveyer to thereby confirm the identityof each article.

-   Patent Document 1: Jpn. Pat. Appln. Laid-Open Publication No.    05-266322

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

As described above, the abovementioned self-checkout systems can preventimproper operation in which the weight of articles is changed before andafter the checkout operation. However, in the case of checkout operationof articles without barcode, when a customer intentionally inputs, e.g.,an expensive article (steak, DVD, etc.) different from an article(banana) that the customer declares (selects) as one that he or shewants to buy or when a customer inputs a plurality of articles at atime, a difference in the weight of articles between two points is notcaused, allowing checkout to be made by improper operation.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problem, and anobject thereof is to provide a checkout system, a checkout systemcontrol program, and a checkout system control method capable ofpreventing improper operation.

Means for Solving the Problems

To solve the above problem, according to the present invention, there isprovided a checkout system for performing checkout of articles,comprising: a second article specification section that specifies asecond article (e.g. expensive articles such as steak. DVD) differentfrom a first article (e.g. reasonable articles such as banana) havingdata on the article registered as first article data; a recognitionsection that recognizes a presented article which is the first articlepresented; and a determination section that determines whether thepresented article specified as the second article by the second articlespecification section is not the second article.

The checkout system according to the present invention comprises a firstarticle data acquisition section that acquires first article data of thefirst article recognized by the recognition section, wherein thedetermination section uses the first article data acquired by the firstarticle data acquisition section to determine that the presented articleis not the second article.

In the checkout system according to the present invention, the firstarticle data includes tag data of a tag attached to the first article,and the recognition section includes a tag reader for reading the tagdata of the tag attached to the article presented.

In the checkout system according to the present invention, the firstarticle data includes tag data of a tag attached to the first article,and the determination section includes a tag reader for reading the tagdata of the tag attached to the article presented.

In the checkout system according to the present invention, the firstarticle data includes the weight of the first article, and thedetermination section includes a weight measurement section thatmeasures the weight of the article presented.

The checkout system according to the present invention comprises asecond article data acquisition section that acquires second articledata of the second article, wherein the determination section uses thesecond article data acquired by the second article data acquisitionsection to determine that the presented article is not the secondarticle.

In the checkout system according to the present invention, the secondarticle data includes a parameter concerning the size of an article, andthe determination section includes a size parameter detection sectionthat detects the parameter concerning the size of the article presented.

In the checkout system according to the present invention, the secondarticle data includes the shape of an article, and the determinationsection includes a shape detection section that detects the shape of thearticle presented.

In the checkout system according to the present invention, in the casewhere it is determined by the determination section that the articlerepresented is not the second article, the operation state is set backto the state before an article is specified as the second article by thesecond article specification section.

The checkout system according to the present invention comprises analarm notification section that issues an alarm notification in the casewhere it is determined by the determination section that the articlerepresented is not the second articles.

According to the present invention, there is provided a checkout systemcontrol program allowing a computer to execute a checkout system controlmethod that performs checkout of articles, the program allowing thecomputer to execute: a second article specification step that specifiesa second article different from a first article having data on thearticle registered as first article data; a recognition step thatrecognizes a presented article which is the first article presented; anda determination step that determines whether the presented articlespecified as the second article by the second article specification stepis not the second article.

The checkout system control program according to the present inventionallows the computer to execute, between the recognition step anddetermination step, a first article data acquisition step that acquiresfirst article data of the first article recognized by the recognitionstep, wherein the determination step uses the first article dataacquired by the first article data acquisition step to determine thatthe presented article is not the second article.

In the checkout system control program according to the presentinvention, the first article data includes tag data of a tag attached tothe first article, and the recognition step includes reading the tagdata of the tag attached to the article presented.

In the checkout system control program according to the presentinvention, the first article data includes tag data of a tag attached tothe first article, and the recognition step includes reading the tagdata of the tag attached to the article presented.

In the checkout system control program according to the presentinvention, the first article data includes the weight of the firstarticle, and the recognition step includes measuring the weight of thearticle presented.

The checkout system control program according to the present inventionallows the computer to execute, between the recognition step anddetermination step, a second article data acquisition step that acquiressecond article data of the second article, wherein the determinationstep uses the second article data acquired by the second article dataacquisition step to determine that the presented article is not thesecond article.

The checkout system control program according to the present inventionallows the computer to execute, after the determination step, an alarmnotification step that issues an alarm notification in the case where itis determined by the determination step that the article presented isnot the second article.

According to the present invention, there is provided a checkout systemcontrol method that performs checkout of articles, comprising: a secondarticle specification step that specifies a second article differentfrom a first article having data on the article registered as firstarticle data; a recognition step that recognizes a presented articlewhich is the first article presented; and a determination step thatdetermines whether the presented article specified as the second articleby the second article specification step is not the second article.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of aself-checkout system according to a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of operation of theself-checkout system according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of article informationacquisition processing performed in the self-checkout system accordingto the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of a barcode scan instruction screenin the self-checkout system according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a view showing an example of an article category selectionscreen in the self-checkout system according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of an article type selection screenin the self-checkout system according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a view showing an example of a quantity input screen in theself-checkout system according to the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a view showing an example of a temporarily-placing instructionscreen in the self-checkout system according to the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a view showing an example of a bagging instruction screen inthe self-checkout system according to the present invention;

FIG. 10 is an outside view showing an example of the self-checkoutsystem according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of aself-checkout system according to a second embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of article informationacquisition processing performed in the self-checkout system accordingto the second embodiment;

FIG. 13 is an outside view showing an example of the self-checkoutsystem according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of aself-checkout system according to a third embodiment;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of article informationacquisition processing performed in the self-checkout system accordingto the third embodiment;

FIG. 16 is an outside view showing an example of the self-checkoutsystem according to the third embodiment;

FIG. 17 is an outside view showing another example of the self-checkoutsystem according to the third embodiment;

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of afirst conventional self-checkout system; and

FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of asecond conventional self-checkout system.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Now, embodiments of the present invention will be described in greaterdetail by referring to the accompanying drawings.

First Embodiment

A self-checkout system which is an example of a checkout system will bedescribed below. The self-checkout system in the present embodiment usesa barcode scanner in order to detect an improperly specified article.

First, a configuration of the self-checkout system according to thepresent embodiment will be described.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of theself-checkout system according to a first embodiment. In FIG. 1, thesame reference numerals as those in FIG. 18 denote the same orcorresponding parts as those in FIG. 18, and the descriptions thereofwill be omitted here. In FIG. 1, as compared with FIG. 18, aself-checkout system control unit 301 is provided in place of theself-checkout system control unit 101. Further, as compared with theself-checkout system control unit 101, the self-checkout system controlunit 301 includes a control section 314 in place of the control section114.

Next, operation of the self-checkout system according to the presentembodiment will be described.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of operation of theself-checkout system according to the present invention. First, inresponse to customer's operation, the control section 314 acquiresarticle information of each article (S11). The details of the articleinformation acquisition processing will be described later. The controlsection 314 performs registration of sales data of the articles whosearticle information have been acquired (S12). Subsequently, the controlsection 314 determines whether there is issued a checkout instruction onthe LCD touch screen 11 (S13). When there has not been issued a checkoutinstruction (N in S13), the flow returns to step S11. On the other hand,when there has been issued a checkout instruction (Y in S13), thecontrol section 314 performs checkout processing.

Next, operation of the article information acquisition processing willbe described.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of article informationacquisition processing performed in the self-checkout system accordingto the first embodiment. The control section 314 displays a barcode scaninstruction screen on the LCD touch screen 11 and then determineswhether a user has selected an article without barcode on the barcodescan instruction screen (S21).

FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of the barcode scan instructionscreen in the self-checkout system according to the present invention.In the case of an article with barcode, a user performs scanning of thebarcode according to the guidance on the screen. On the other hand, inthe case of an article without barcode, a user presses an articleselection button on the screen so as to input article information of thearticle without barcode.

When a user has not selected an article without barcode (N in S21), thecontrol section 314 causes the barcode scanner 12 to read out thebarcode attached to the article and acquires, from the article database6, article information corresponding to the barcode (S22). After thereadout operation, the control section 314 displays, on the LCD touchscreen 11, a bagging instruction screen for instructing a user to putthe article in the bag hung at the article bag station 3 (S23).

Then, the control section 314 causes the article bag measurement section4 to measure the entire article bag and calculates an increase in theweight as a measurement value of the article weight (S24). The controlsection 314 then compares a registration value of the article weightacquired from the article database 6 and measurement value of thearticle weight acquired from the article bag measurement section 4 todetermine that the registration value and measurement value coincidewith each other (S25). “Coincide” in this case means that a differencebetween the above two values falls within a predetermined range. Whenthe two values coincide with each other (Y in S25), this flow is ended.On the other hand, when the two values do not coincide with each other(N in S25), the control section 314 displays alarm notification on theLCD touch screen 11 (S26), and the flow returns to step S21.

In the above notification operation, the control section 314 may displaynot only an alarm but also the content instructing a user to perform theoperation once again. Further, in the notification operation, thecontrol section 314 may display the above information not only on theLCD touch screen 11 but also on an external terminal for shop assistantthrough the communication section 15.

On the other hand, when a user has selected an article without barcode(Y in S21), the control section 314 acquires article information of theselected article without barcode based on the user's input operation onthe LCD touch screen 11 (S31). Here, the input operation of articleinformation of the article without barcode will be described. When anarticle selection button displayed on the above-mentioned barcode scaninstruction screen is depressed, the control section 314 displays anarticle category selection screen on the LCD touch screen 11.

FIG. 5 is a view showing an example of the article category selectionscreen in the self-checkout system according to the present invention. Auser selects the category of the article on this screen. In thisexample, a “vegetable” button has been selected. After the category ofthe article has been selected, the control section 314 displays anarticle type selection screen corresponding to the selected articlecategory on the LCD touch screen 11.

FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of the article type selection screenin the self-checkout system according to the present invention. A userselects the type of the article on this screen. In this example, a“lettuce” button has been selected. After the type of the article hasbeen selected, the control section 314 displays a quantity input screenon the LCD touch screen 11.

FIG. 7 is a view showing an example of the quantity input screen in theself-checkout system according to the present invention. A user selectsthe quantity of the article on this screen. In this example, “1” hasbeen input on the quantity input screen.

Then, the control section 314 displays, on the LCD touch screen 11, atemporarily-placing instruction screen for instructing a user to placethe article on the article temporary-placing table 22 (S32). FIG. 8 is aview showing an example of the temporarily-placing instruction screen inthe self-checkout system according to the present invention. The controlsection 314 then causes the article measurement section 21 to measurethe weight of the article placed on the article temporary-placing table22 (S33) and performs recognition operation of the barcode attached tothe article, if possible (S34). That is, the control section 314 readsout the barcode of the article placed on the article temporary-placingtable 22 with the barcode scanner 12 and acquires article informationcorresponding to the barcode from the article database 6.

Then, the control section 314 determines whether the recognition resultis abnormal or not (S35). The case where the recognition result isabnormal means a case where a registration value of the weight that hasbeen acquired from the article database 6 in response to the barcoderecognition operation and measurement value of the weight acquired fromthe article measurement section 21 do not coincide with each other. Inthis case, since the user has specified the article as one withoutbarcode, the control section 314 may determine that the recognitionresult is abnormal when the barcode recognition operation can be made.

When the recognition result is abnormal (Y in S35), the flow shifts tostep S26. On the other hand, when the recognition result is normal (N inS35), the control section 314 displays, on the LCD touch screen 11, abagging instruction screen for instructing a user to put the article inthe bag at the article bag station 3 (S43). FIG. 9 is a view showing anexample of the bagging instruction screen in the self-checkout systemaccording to the present invention. Then, the control section 314 causesthe article bag measurement section 4 to measure the weight of theentire article bag and calculates an increase in the weight (S44). Thecontrol section 314 then compares the measurement value of the weightacquired from the article measurement section 21 and measurement valueof the weight acquired from the article bag measurement section 4 anddetermines whether the two values coincide with each other (S45).“Coincide” in this case means that a difference between the above twovalues falls within a predetermined range.

When the two values do not coincide with each other (N in S45), the flowshifts to step S26. On the other hand, when the two values coincide witheach other (Y in S45), this flow is ended.

FIG. 10 is an outside view showing an example of the self-checkoutsystem according to the first embodiment. FIG. 10 shows arrangement ofthe self-checkout system control unit 301 (including the LCD touchscreen 11, barcode scanner 12, and article temporary-placing table 22),article basket table 2, and article bag station 3.

Further, FIG. 10 explains the operation of step S34. Even though a userspecifies an article with barcode as an article without barcode, thebarcode of the article with barcode is read out by the barcode scanner12 at the time point when it is placed on the article temporary-placingtable 22. That is, the barcode scanner 12 is caused to operate for allarticles irrespective of whether the barcode is attached or not.

The angular range of the barcode scanner 12 within which a barcode canbe read out may be made larger, or sensitivity thereof may be increasedso as to increase the success rate of the barcode read operation for anarticle that has been specified as one without barcode.

Although the article database 6 is provided outside the self-checkoutsystem control unit 301 and connected to the control unit 301 throughthe communication section 15 in the present embodiment, the articledatabase 6 may be provided inside the self-checkout system control unit301.

Further, although the self-checkout system has been described as anexample of a checkout system, the present embodiment can be applied to acheckout system in which a shop assistant performs checkout operation.

According to the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent not onlyimproper operation but also input error caused at the time of input ofthe article information of the article without barcode in the checkoutsystem.

Further, according to the present embodiment, barcode read operation isperformed even though a user specifies an article with barcode as anarticle without barcode in the checkout operation, thereby preventingthe article with barcode from being regarded as one without barcode inthe checkout operation.

Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, by representingrespective portions such as the barcode scan instruction screen,temporarily-placing instruction screen, bagging instruction screen to auser together with the overall view of the self-checkout system, it ispossible to reliably acquaint a user with an instruction for preventingimproper operation.

Second Embodiment

In the present embodiment, a self-checkout system that uses a tag readerin order to detect an article that has falsely been specified by a userwill be described.

First, a configuration of the self-checkout system according to thepresent embodiment will be described.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of theself-checkout system according to a second embodiment. In FIG. 11, thesame reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 denote the same orcorresponding parts as those in FIG. 1, and the descriptions thereofwill be omitted here. In FIG. 11, as compared with FIG. 1, aself-checkout system control unit 401 and an article database 406 areprovided in place of the self-checkout system control unit 301 andarticle database 6, respectively. Further, as compared with theself-checkout system control unit 301, the self-checkout system controlunit 401 includes a control section 414 in place of the control section314 and additionally includes a tag reader 423.

The tag reader 423 reads a tag attached to an article. The tag may be anEAS (Electronic Article Surveillance) tag, a magnetic tag, or an RF(Radio Frequency) ID tag. An EAS antenna, a magnetic tag reader, and anRFID reader correspond to the above tags, respectively. Such a tag ispreviously attached to a certain article such as an expensive article,and information corresponding to the tag is registered in the articledatabase 406 independently of the article information registered in thearticle database 6.

Next, operation of the self-checkout system according to the presentembodiment will be described.

The operation of the self-checkout system according to the presentembodiment is the same as that shown in FIG. 2 except for the articleinformation acquisition processing. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing anexample of the article information acquisition processing performed inthe self-checkout system according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 12,the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 3 denote the same orcorresponding parts as those in FIG. 3, and the descriptions thereofwill be omitted here. In FIG. 12, as compared with FIG. 3, step S36 isexecuted in place of step S34 and step S37 is executed in place of stepS35.

After step S33, the control section 414 performs recognition operationusing the tag reader 423, if possible (S36). That is, the controlsection 414 causes the tag reader 423 to read the tag of an article andacquires article information corresponding to the tag from the articledatabase 406. Then, the control section 414 determines whether therecognition result is abnormal or not (S37). The case where therecognition result is abnormal means a case where a registration valueof the weight that has been acquired from the article database 406 inresponse to the tag recognition operation and measurement value of theweight acquired from the article measurement section 21 do not coincidewith each other. When the recognition result is abnormal (Y in S37), theflow shifts to step S26. On the other hand, when the recognition resultis normal (N in S37), the flow advances to step S43.

FIG. 13 is an outside view showing an example of the self-checkoutsystem according to the second embodiment. FIG. 13 shows arrangement ofthe self-checkout system control unit 401 (including the tag reader423), article basket table 2, and article bag station 3. The arrangementof the LCD touch screen 11, barcode scanner 12, and articletemporary-placing table 22 is the same as that in FIG. 10. When a userperforms checkout of an article without barcode, the tag of the articleis read by the tag reader 423 at the time point when the article isplaced on the article temporary-placing table 22.

Although the tag is attached to a certain article independently of thebarcode in the present embodiment, the tag may be attached as asubstitute for the barcode. This eliminates the need of providing thebarcode scanner 12 in the self-checkout system.

According to the present embodiment, a use of the tag and tag readerallows article information to be acquired by simply bring the articleclose to the article temporary-placing table 22 irrespective of theposture thereof. As a result, it is possible to reduce the possibilityof allowing checkout to be made by improper operation.

Third Embodiment

In the present embodiment, a self-checkout system that recognizes thefeature of an article in order to detect an article that has falselybeen specified by a user will be described.

First, a configuration of the self-checkout system according to thepresent embodiment will be described.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of theself-checkout system according to a third embodiment. In FIG. 14, thesame reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 denote the same orcorresponding parts as those in FIG. 1, and the descriptions thereofwill be omitted here. In FIG. 14, as compared with FIG. 1, aself-checkout system control unit 501 and an article database 506 areprovided in place of the self-checkout system control unit 301 andarticle database 6, respectively. Further, as compared with theself-checkout system control unit 301, the self-checkout system controlunit 501 includes a control section 514 in place of the control section314 and additionally includes an article recognition section 523.

The article recognition section 523 may be a sensor such as a gatesensor, a CCD sensor array, a C-MOS sensor array, a color sensor, orcamera. Feature information, such as size, shape, color, and the like ofeach article without barcode is previously registered in the articledatabase 506 independently of article information of the articledatabase 6.

Next, operation of the self-checkout system according to the presentembodiment will be described.

The operation of the self-checkout system according to the presentembodiment is the same as that shown in FIG. 2 except for the articleinformation acquisition processing. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing anexample of the article information acquisition processing performed inthe self-checkout system according to the third embodiment. In FIG. 15,the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 3 denote the same orcorresponding parts as those in FIG. 3, and the descriptions thereofwill be omitted here. In FIG. 15, as compared with FIG. 3, step S38 isexecuted in place of step S34 and step S39 is executed in place of stepS35.

After step S33, the control section 514 causes the article recognitionsection 523 to perform recognition operation of the feature of anarticle (S38). Then, the control section 514 determines whether therecognition result is abnormal or not (S39). The case where therecognition result is abnormal means a case where the feature of thearticle acquired from the article recognition section 523 does notcoincide with the feature of the article that has been acquired from thearticle database 506 for the article without barcode specified by auser. When the recognition result is abnormal (Y in S39), the flowshifts to step S26. On the other hand, when the recognition result isnormal (N in S39), the flow advances to step S43.

FIG. 16 is an outside view showing an example of the self-checkoutsystem according to the third embodiment. FIG. 16 shows arrangement ofthe self-checkout system control unit 501 (including the articlerecognition section 523), article basket table 2, and article bagstation 3. The arrangement of the LCD touch screen 11, barcode scanner12, and article temporary-placing table 22 is the same as that in FIG.10.

In the example of FIG. 16, the article recognition section 523 is a gatesensor. When a user performs checkout of an article without barcode, theheight of the article is recognized by the gate sensor at the time pointwhen the article is placed on the article temporary-placing table 22.For example, as shown in FIG. 16, the gate sensor is constituted by twovertically arranged light sensors. The upper light sensor detects thatthe height of the article is, e.g., 50 mm or more and lower light sensordetects that the height of the article is, e.g., 50 mm or less.

In this case, the information concerning the height is previouslyregistered as the feature of each article without barcode in the articledatabase 506. The article recognition section 523 recognizes the heightof the article in step S38 and compares the height acquired from thearticle recognition section 523 and the height acquired from the articledatabase 506 in step S39. When a difference between the two values doesnot fall within a predetermined range, the recognition result isdetermined to be abnormal.

FIG. 17 is an outside view showing another example of the self-checkoutsystem according to the third embodiment. FIG. 17 shows arrangement ofthe self-checkout system control unit 501 (including the articlerecognition section 523), article basket table 2, and article bagstation 3. The arrangement of the LCD touch screen 11, barcode scanner12, and article temporary-placing table 22 is the same as that in FIG.10.

In the example of FIG. 17, the article recognition section 523 is a CCDsensor array. When a user performs checkout of an article withoutbarcode, the shape of the article is recognized by the CCD array sensorat the time point when the article is placed on the articletemporary-placing table 22. For example, as shown in FIG. 17, CCDsensors constituting the CCD sensor array are arranged in a horizontalplane on the article temporary-placing table 22 so as to detect theshape of the article in the horizontal direction.

In this case, the information concerning the shape in the horizontaldirection is previously registered as the feature of each articlewithout barcode in the article database 506. The article recognitionsection 523 recognizes the shape of the article in step S38 and comparesthe shape acquired from the article recognition section 523 and theshape acquired from the article database 506 in step S39. When adifference between the two shapes does not fall within a predeterminedrange, the recognition result is determined to be abnormal.

Since the article recognition section 523 is used to perform checkout inthe present embodiment, the article measurement section 21 can beomitted. Accordingly, operations of weight measurement in step S33 andweight check in step S45 can be omitted.

Further, in the present embodiment, the feature information of eacharticle without barcode is previously registered in the article database506 and, only when the article information acquisition processing forthe article without barcode is performed, the recognition operation bythe article recognition section 523 and check operation of the featureare performed. Alternatively, however, the feature information ofarticles other than the articles without barcode may previously beregistered in the article database 506. In this case, the recognitionoperation by the article recognition section 523 and check operation ofthe feature are performed for all articles.

Further, although the article recognition section 523 recognizes the oneor two-dimensional size or shape in the present embodiment, the articlerecognition section 523 may be configured to recognize thethree-dimensional size or shape by a use of a plurality of sensors or bymoving the article temporary-placing table 22.

According to the present embodiment, by recognizing the feature of thearticle, such as size, shape, color, and the like, it is possible toprevent improper operation for an article to which a barcode, tag, orthe like is not attached.

Further, it is possible to provide a program that allows a computerconstituting the checkout system to execute the above steps as acheckout system control program. By storing the above program in acomputer-readable storage medium, it is possible to allow the computerconstituting the checkout system to execute the program. Thecomputer-readable storage medium mentioned here includes: an internalstorage device mounted in a computer, such as ROM or RAM; a portablestorage medium such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk, a DVD disk, amagneto-optical disk, or an IC card; a database that holds computerprogram; another computer and database thereof; and a transmissionmedium on a network line.

A first article corresponds to the article with barcode in theembodiments. A second article corresponds to the article without barcodein the embodiments. Further, tag data corresponds to data acquired fromthe barcode, EAS tag, magnetic tag, or RFID tag in the embodiments.

Further, a first article data acquisition section corresponds to thecommunication section in the embodiments. A second article dataacquisition section corresponds to the communication section in theembodiments. A recognition section corresponds to the barcode scanner ortag reader in the embodiments. A second article specification sectionand alarm notification section correspond to the LCD touch screen in theembodiments. A determination section corresponds to the control section,article measurement section, and article recognition section in theembodiments. A weight measurement section corresponds to the articlemeasurement section in the embodiments. A size parameter detectionsection and shape detection section correspond to the articlerecognition section in the embodiments.

Further, a second article specification step corresponds to step S31 inthe embodiments. A recognition step corresponds to step S34 in theembodiments. A determination step corresponds to steps S34, S35, S36,S37, S38, and S39 in the embodiments. A first-article data acquisitionstep corresponds to steps S34 and S36 in the embodiments. A secondarticle data acquisition step corresponds to step S39 in theembodiments. An alarm notification step corresponds to step S26 in theembodiments.

Industrial Applicability

As described above, the present invention recognizes that an article forwhich checkout operation is to be performed differs from an article thathas falsely been specified by a user to thereby prevent the improperoperation. This increases the reliability of the checkout system andleads to the prevalence of the checkout system.

1. A checkout system for performing checkout of articles, comprising: anarticle specification section that receives an instruction from a user,the instruction specifying a second article different from a firstarticle having data on the article registered as first article data; arecognition section that recognizes a presented article which is thefirst article presented when the presented article is specified as anarticle without barcode by the user; and a determination section thatdetermines whether the presented article specified as the second articleby the article specification section is not the second article.
 2. Thecheckout system according to claim 1, further comprising: a firstarticle data acquisition section that acquires first article data of thefirst article recognized by the recognition section, wherein thedetermination section uses the first article data acquired by the firstarticle data acquisition section to determine that the presented articleis not the second article.
 3. The checkout system according to claim 2,wherein the first article data includes tag data of a tag attached tothe first article, and the recognition section includes a tag reader forreading the tag data of the tag attached to the article presented so asto recognize the presented article.
 4. The checkout system according toclaim 1, wherein the recognition section includes a barcode scanner andperforms recognition operation using the barcode scanner for thepresented article when the presented article is specified as an articlewithout barcode by the user.
 5. The checkout system according to claim2, wherein the first article data includes the weight of the firstarticle, and the determination section includes a weight measurementsection that measures the weight of the article presented.
 6. Thecheckout system according to claim 1, comprising a second article dataacquisition section that acquires second article data of the secondarticle, wherein the determination section uses the second article dataacquired by the second article data acquisition section to determinethat the presented article is not the second article.
 7. The checkoutsystem according to claim 6, wherein the second article data includes aparameter concerning the size of an article, and the determinationsection includes a size parameter detection section that detects theparameter concerning the size of the article presented.
 8. The checkoutsystem according to claim 6, wherein the second article data includesthe shape of an article, and the determination section includes a shapedetection section that detects the shape of the article presented. 9.The checkout system according to claim 1, wherein in the case where itis determined by the determination section that the article presented isnot the second article, the operation state is set back to the statebefore an article is specified as the second article by the articlespecification section.
 10. The checkout system according to claim 1,further comprising: an alarm notification section that issues an alarmnotification when the determination section determines that the articlerepresented is not the second article.
 11. A computer-readable mediumhaving recorded thereon a checkout system control program that causes acomputer to execute a process comprising: receiving an instruction froma user, the instruction specifying a second article different from afirst article having data on the article registered as first articledata; recognizes recognizing a presented article which is the firstarticle presented when the presented article is specified as an articlewithout barcode by the user; and determining whether the presentedarticle specified as the second article in the receiving is not thesecond article.
 12. The computer-readable medium according to claim 11,wherein the process further comprises, between the recognizing and thedetermining, acquiring first article data of the first articlerecognized in the recognizing, and the determining uses the firstarticle data acquired in the acquiring to determine that the presentedarticle is not the second article.
 13. The computer-readable mediumaccording to claim 12, wherein the first article data includes tag dataof a tag attached to the first article, and the recognizing includesreading the tag data of the tag attached to the article presented byutilizing a tag reader so as to recognize the presented article.
 14. Thecomputer-readable medium according to claim 11, wherein the recognizingperforms recognition operation utilizing a barcode scanner for thepresented article when the presented article is specified as an articlewithout barcode by the user.
 15. The computer-readable medium accordingto claim 12, wherein the first article data includes the weight of thefirst article, and the determining includes measuring the weight of thearticle presented.
 16. The computer-readable medium according to claim11, wherein the process further comprises, between the recognizing andthe determining, acquiring second article data of the second article,and the determining uses the second article data acquired in theacquiring second article data to determine that the presented article isnot the second article.
 17. The computer-readable medium according toclaim 11, wherein the process further comprises, after the determining,issuing an alarm notification when the determining determines that thearticle represented is not the second article.
 18. A checkout systemcontrol method that performs checkout of articles, comprising: receivingan instruction from a user, the instruction specifying a second articledifferent from a first article having data on the article registered asfirst article data; recognizing a presented article which is the firstarticle presented when the presented article is specified as an articlewithout barcode by the user; and determines determining whether thepresented article specified as the second article in the receiving isnot the second article.
 19. The checkout system control method accordingto claim 18, further comprising: acquiring, between the recognizing andthe determining, first article data of the first article recognized inthe recognizing, wherein the determining uses the first article dataacquired in the acquiring to determine that the presented article is notthe second article.
 20. The checkout system control method according toclaim 18, further comprising: acquiring, between the recognizing and thedetermining, second article data of the second article, wherein thedetermining uses the second article data acquired in the acquiringsecond article data to determine that the presented article is not thesecond article.